Young Justice: A Death in the Family
by TonyStarkakaIronMan
Summary: One year. Two deaths. And the Team would never be the same. Set during the Five Year Gap. Canon, based on what we know currently. Mostly drama/adventure with some romance for the shippers. Been out of the game for awhile. Might be a little rusty.


He awoke abruptly, bolting upright into a sitting position. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized his communicator was going off. He fumbled for his gauntlet, sighing.

_I guess an uninterrupted night's sleep is too much to ask for these days._

He finally activated the com-link. "Nightwing," He said tersely.

"Apologies," Kaldur's serious tone filled the room, "but it's a priority call from Gotham."

Dick Grayson winced. Unless Barbara was on the other end, it wasn't good news.

"All right, patch it through," There was a brief click. "Nightwing. What's up?"

"Dick." It was Barbara. For a split second he began to smile, but her tone was off.

Something was wrong.

"Dick, it's Jason."

"What's happened?" He felt a flash of annoyance. "What'd he do this time?"

"Jason's dead, Dick. The Joker killed him."

-BREAK-

The sky was overcast, heavy with the promise of rain. The wind came in fitful bursts, punctuating the chill air with the rustling of dead leaves. It was altogether miserable, mournful weather. The kind that would drive any normal person indoors quickly.

Dick Grayson didn't notice.

Jason Todd's tombstone defied the elements with the same tenacity the second Robin had exhibited in life. A life cut short by a psychopath he had had no business confronting alone.

"Hey."

He looked away from the marker to find Wally standing next to him.

"Ran all the way here, Wally?"

"Yeah. Beat my best time by five minutes."

"You could have Zetaed. You're still encoded into the system."

Wally West stepped forward and idly traced the engraving on the headstone, "Yeah, I know. But I wanted some time to think."

"I can relate."

They stood in companionable silence as the sky gradually darkened and the wind continued to moan. Leaves accumulated around their feet and the cold marble of the marker.

"M'gann told me no family showed up for the funeral. That's too bad."

"Jason didn't have a family."

Wally sighed. "Yet another Bat family secret. You'd think Bruce would mellow a bit as he ages."

A fine, misty rain began to fall, graying out their surroundings. Dim pools of light glowed feebly in the distance, contrasted by the gigantic monoliths of Gotham City that loomed over the cemetery.

"Why are you here, Wally? Aren't you in the middle of finals?"

"Batgirl asked me to talk to you. She's worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"People who are fine don't stand in the middle of the rain staring at tombstones in the middle of the night." He waited for his gibe to force a response.

A minute later, he was still waiting. "Please tell me you aren't blaming yourself."

"I'm not. I'm blaming _him_. Jason always had a chip on his shoulder. He was reckless and stubborn and this time he bit off more than he could chew."

"Kinda harsh, don't you think?"

"He should have waited for backup."

"Batman was off world with most of the League helping the Corps."

"Then he should have called us!" Dick turned away abruptly and began to stalk towards the exit.

In a split second, Wally cut him off. "So you _are _blaming yourself."

Dick tensed, but quickly realized he couldn't get away. Wally may have retired from being Kid Flash, but he was still the second fastest person on the planet.

The rain was coming down steadily now. Dick ran a hand through his hair in a half-hearted attempt to get it out of his face and exhaled sharply, "I could have been more welcoming."

Wally smiled, "You two always _did_ butt heads." They began to walk together towards the large wrought iron gate, "I'm not saying it was your fault, though. It was an . . . awkward situation."

"You're telling me? I was barely Nightwing for six months and here comes another Robin. Talk about being replaced."

The reached the main road and turned towards the exit, avoiding the growing puddles.

"I could have handled it better, Wally," he said quietly.

"See, this is why you shouldn't brood. You _always_ come to the wrong conclusion."

"Wally—"

"Jason was a jerk. He knew how to push your buttons and he loved doing it."

"Now, wait a—"

"Hear me out," They stopped just inside the gate, which was closed and locked; visiting hours having hours before. "The reason Jason had a chip on his shoulder is because he was insecure. You were the first. He had _gigantic_ shoes to fill. Stir in the resentment vibe Bruce was not so subtly directing your way, and you have the worst case of sibling rivalry imaginable. It's a wonder you two didn't beat each other senseless."

"Now who's being harsh?"

"You made the best of a bad situation. When Bruce wanted him on the Team, Kaldur ran it by you first. You could have said no, but you didn't. You didn't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment. You knew we were going to be short-handed once Artemis and I left, so you did the right thing. So you two weren't best buddies, so what? It didn't affect the missions, and that's all that matters."

Wally paused to vibrate through the gate as Dick deftly vaulted over it.

"If Jason didn't call in the Team, that's on him, not you. End of story."

Dick stared at his best friend and finally cracked a smile.

"Thanks."

+++BREAK+++

He arrived at the Cave a couple hours later and $40 lighter. Wally could still put it away when it came to meals.

Wolf perked up from his slumber, took a casual sniff, and immediately went back to sleep.

He wandered over to the kitchen, grabbed an energy drink from the fridge, and sat down heavily at the kitchen table.

Wally was right, of course. He _had_ reached out to Jason, but his helping hand kept being slapped away. Eventually, it had been easier to stop trying.

He leaned back into his chair and sighed loudly.

_Doesn't matter now. Like Bruce always says: Learn from your mistakes so you don't make them again. If he's crazy enough to have a third Boy Wonder, I'm going to welcome him with open arms._

_But one thing's for sure. No more deaths on my watch. _

_No matter what._

A noise in the hallway caught his attention.

"I hope I'm not intruding."

Dick smiled, "Of course not. The kitchen's open to everyone. As long as M'gann's not cooking, anyway."

The young woman smiled, "I'm trying a new hydration spell, but I haven't quite worked the crabs out of it yet." She pulled multiple bottles of water from the fridge and kicked it shut with her bare foot.

"Bugs."

"Pardon?"

"Bugs. You haven't worked the bugs out of it."

She laughed, "One of these days I'm going to master your slang."

"Don't feel bad. M'gann still messes up once in awhile."

"Well, I'll leave you be. Goodnight, Nightwing."

He shot her a quick grin.

"Goodnight, Tula."


End file.
